“Men cook outside. Women make the three-bean salad.”
On the weather front, today is warm but cloudy. On the tooth front, my dentist is out-of-town. The ice skate extraction from Castaway is beginning to have some appeal, and all the movies I’ve seen with crazed dentists are flashing through my memory banks. The worst is the scene in The Marathon Man when SS dentist Szell tortures Dustin Hoffman by sticking a probe into his teeth. I swear I screamed along with Dustin. Dentists are never heroes.
I have a former student who is an oral surgeon. I called his office, whined a little and mentioned the ice skates so they are seeing me at two, but I suspect I’ll have to wait until Thursday for any work because of the blood thinner I take. Okay, I’m done with the teeth talk. It’s creeping me out!
Today is quiet. The birds are the only sounds I hear. The neighborhood is deserted. I like it quite after the hubbub of the weekend.
During the summer, we didn’t have too many Sunday family dinners. The kitchen was small and keeping the oven on made the room swelter. Mostly we had barbecues, meat cooked outside but eaten inside. My dad would put his grill by the back steps so he could sit and read while the meat cooked. He used charcoal briquets as did most backyard cooks back then. My dad was a member of the use as much charcoal lighter fluid as you can school of thought. The height of the flames determined status. My dad was king.
When we moved down the cape and had a large yard, my dad would sit on a wooden lawn chair and tend his grill. He’d have a few drinks. Every now and then we’d hear the whoosh of the flames and knew fluid had been added then we’d check to make sure my dad hadn’t set himself on fire. He did that on occasion.
When they moved off Cape, the new house also had a big yard, and my father assumed his rightful position outside keeping an eye on the meat. He liked to use both a hibachi and a grill to accommodate the growing offerings as the menu had expanded well beyond hot dogs and hamburgers of my childhood. Now he cooked chicken, steak tips, Chinese sausages, kielbasa and even pork tenderloins.
What amazed me was that my father always cooked the meat just right despite the fires and the flames and the pops of his favorite alcohol passed to him through the open window. He was the backyard master of the grill.
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This entry was posted on June 9, 2014 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: Barbecue, charcoal briquets, Chinese sausage, crazed dentists, fire, flames, grill, hibachi, toothache
Both comments and pings are currently closed.28 Comments on ““Men cook outside. Women make the three-bean salad.””
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
June 9, 2014 at 1:57 pm
I remember that we did bbq quite often during summers but I can’t for my life remember what we had. Hotdogs of course and since my mother never has been much of a chef 🙂 and she also was the master of the grill I doubt we had much else 🙂 I don’t think anyone of us would have dared to eat chicken if she had grilled it 🙂
Sunny and warm here today and tomorrow will be hot, perhaps record hot for June. At least 80,6F so the factory will be awful. But I won’t stay all day because Nova has an appintment with the vet at 1:15, her ear is infected again. She will love going to work with me since she will be staying in my boss air conditioned office but she will hate me when she realises that we also will go to the vet 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
June 9, 2014 at 4:24 pm
Christer,
It was when we were older that my parents served a variety of meats though I still enjoy hamburgers and hot digs on the grill.
It is cloudy and damp here now. It may rain either tonight or tomorrow. I don’t mind. At this time of year rain is welcomed.
Poor Nova! Gracie loves the vet and wanted to give hugs and kisses. Hope she’ll heal quickly!
Have a great evening!
June 9, 2014 at 2:31 pm
Heatwave! 3rd day up to 35°C / 95°F (Texans may laugh now), holiday today and I’m living lazy on ice cream and ice coffee.
Barbecue, definitely a men’s thing, hunt the mammoth and feed the family. Apparently I’m not a man, I eat but don’t cook outside.
I love the Robert Earl Keen song you posted, it’s perfect for this hot lazy weather.
Good luck! I hope your former student can/could help.
June 9, 2014 at 4:31 pm
Birgit,
What is the holiday?
It’s true that men hunt and cook outside. Women are left to cooking inside the house. Fire is for men.
I like to use my grill for everything from appetizers to dessert.
The tooth is now history!
June 9, 2014 at 6:03 pm
Pentecost Monday is a public holiday over here. I don’t complain, though I like the idea to change this christian holiday for a muslim public holiday. Regarding the local population mix it would be only fair.
Meanwhile we’ve had a massive thunderstorm with lots of rain. Internet still works, but the garden is probably a mess. I could see some broken plants, but it’s too dark now. I’ll take a look tomorrow.
Glad to hear you lost the tooth but not your wisdom 🙂
June 9, 2014 at 7:02 pm
Birgit,
I think about the separation of church and state yet we celebrate Christmas as a day off holiday, but I don’t think they’d accept Pentecost Monday as that may be going just a bit too far.
I adore thunderstorms, but I hope your plants survived without breaking too much.
That is assuming I had some wisdom before the extraction!
June 9, 2014 at 8:53 pm
This thunderstorm was not adorable. According to the radio news 30.000 lightnings in 90 minutes, floodings everywhere, severe storm, broken trees, traffic down, people hurt, at least one is dead. It’s nighttime, we’ll see tomorrow.
I guess we are lucky that just the garden is partly damaged.
June 9, 2014 at 9:02 pm
Birgit,
There must be a word to use for greater than a thunderstorm as that one was far more intense than the name implies. That many strikes of lightning seem more the fodder of science fiction than reality.
June 10, 2014 at 8:42 am
However it’s called, the thunderstorm looked like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6s2DfLPaL4
(Mute the music, it’s terrible.)
Worst storm since 2004, it hit the whole region and this is not a time-lapse video. We have to clean up now.
June 10, 2014 at 10:29 am
OMG, Bigit,
The lightning strikes alone would have scared me. They lit up the sky. That storm is scary just seeing the video. I hope you didn’t lose too many trees and flowers. That is horrible.
June 9, 2014 at 4:01 pm
I’m sorry that the news on the tooth front isn’t better, but I hope your former student will be able to help you out soon. Thinking good thoughts for you!
June 9, 2014 at 4:31 pm
sprite,
Your good thoughts worked. Peter took out the tooth. It was painless.
June 9, 2014 at 7:31 pm
Hi Kat,
I’m glad to read that the offending tooth has left the building and all is well.
My father was a master chef outside over an open flame. If he had to cook for us inside over a gas flame, we went to the diner.
He built his own outdoor fireplace and put a grill into it. When we were kids all our cook-outs were done on that fireplace. Once each summer my father would host a lobster and clam fest with hot dogs, hamburgers and steak. All the meat was done on the fireplace but the lobsters and clams were done in galvanized trash cans along with the corn and potatoes. It was like a crab boil, I guess, though I’ve never been to one of those.
Now I’m craving hot dogs with charcoal burnt bits on them. I suppose I could go hold one over the gas flame until it catches fire. No. Better not.
Enjoy the evening.
June 9, 2014 at 7:44 pm
Hi Caryn,
I am delighted to be missing a tooth. The site is a bit sore, but there is no pain. Yippee!!
I love clam bakes especially ones on the beach. The lobster and the bag of veggies cooked so well under the seaweed. Now I want a lobster.
I don’t think you can have a crab boil without the crab.
Hot dogs on the grill are a trip back to paradise!
Have a great evening!!
June 9, 2014 at 9:02 pm
Somehow, I don’t think Robert Earl would recognize your dad’s cooking as barbecue–but then he (and I) live in Central Texas, where BBQ is damn near a religion. You can get an idea of how serious we are about it when you learn that Texas Monthly magazine recently named its first-ever barbecue editor.
June 9, 2014 at 9:29 pm
Marchbanks,
When you travel the country, you learn how barbecue changes based on where you live. It’s a verb then you travel some more and it becomes a noun. Here we have a barbecue; we don’t barbecue (if that makes sense). Even the sauces change from one city limits to another. I agree we are not so serious about our barbecues, but we have the most amazing clam bakes. They have an order for placing the food, the wood and the seaweed. We are most serious for that.
I found a wonderful southern barbecue restaurant, mostly take a way, but it didn’t make it, not unexpected. People tend to get entranced in favorite flavors.
June 9, 2014 at 9:25 pm
Kat,
I have some catching up to do – for some reason, you’re not updating on mine.
I’m so sorry that you’ve been struggling with the horrible pain of that toothache, but I’m glad the offending molar is no more. You’ll be fine in a day or two. What sort of painkillers did they hand out to you at the hospital? I’m just curious, because I suspect that up here we’d probably be lucky to get Tylenol #3 (which, from experience, I can say doesn’t really put a dent in a bad toothache.) 😉
Marie
June 9, 2014 at 9:49 pm
Marie,
Since Friday I have had the worst toothache which then spread to my ear. I made it through writing Saturday’s entry but not Sunday’s. Today I wrote my blog in after the offending tooth had been removed, and I dropped by your blog to visit. I’m sorry I haven’t stopped by more often, but I couldn’t even write my own blog because of the pain.
I didn’t go to the hospital but to the dentist’s office. Dennis, the oral surgeon, didn’t give me anything new but has me using what I got on Saturday at the clinic: amoxicillin and oxycodone which I punched up with ibuprofen. The pain is gone: now it is just an ache. Peter just called me to make sure I’m okay. He is a good dentist and a great guy.
I will drop by now that I am feeling so much better.
June 10, 2014 at 1:13 am
Hi Kat,
Maybe you misunderstood – I wasn’t moaning that you hadn’t visited me, only that your blog entries weren’t updating on my blogroll and that’s why I hadn’t stopped by your place. Of course blogging would be out of the question when you’re in that much pain. I’ve never had oxycodone and doubt that anyone would prescribe it to me up here unless I was about to expire – but I wouldn’t mind trying it! 😉 Did it upset your stomach at all?
I’m going to be away for about three weeks, but when I get back I’ll be reuploading lots of songs from the very early days of my blogs, so I’m kinda looking forward to that – don’t think all 400 or so posts from my various incarnations have ever been up at the same time.
I doubt I’ll have access to a computer very often while I’m away, so I’ll have lots to read on Coffee when I get back.
Take good care of yourself!
Marie
June 10, 2014 at 10:18 am
Marie,
It totally upset my stomach but my sister told me I m not supposed to take it on an empty stomach. After I had eaten, it didn’t create any stomach problems. It worked for a while.
I wonder why it isn’t posting. Strange things do occur for which there is no explanation.
I hope you’re going on vacation! If so have a wonderful time. We’ll be waiting when you get back.
Kat
June 10, 2014 at 11:38 am
Kat,
Yes, I’m going on vacation – to England (yay!!!) However, I am the WORST person to travel with in the world. I like my creature comforts and sleeping in my own bed – plus I detest feeling like a sardine on the airplane. Flying anywhere in general is a stressful inconvenience to me – but England calls and I must obey! 😉 I experience a lot of discomfort with my ears every time, so that just adds to the “fun.” 😉
Anyway, Kat, I do hope you’re feeling 100% soon, and wish you and all of the Coffee crowd the very best.
Marie
June 10, 2014 at 1:52 pm
Marie,
One of my favorite spots in the world. I try to start or finish every European vacation there. I am envious.
Have the most wonderful time!! We’ll be here waiting when you return.
June 9, 2014 at 10:27 pm
Why didn’t Dennis the oral surgeon extract your tooth? My oral surgeon extracted one of mine before doing my implants. I think they start out as dentists. However, more narcotics is not a bad compromise. 🙂
Texas barbecue is ribs, brisket or sausage smoked over post oak or mesquite wood. No pulled pork with slaw. Go to this URL and salivate.
http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/sxsw-our-guide-central-texas-barbecue
My father was smoking meat in the backyard since the mid 1950s. He never started the briquets with that lighter fluid stuff but used strips off news print. His ribs were marinated in a mixture of brown sugar and soy sauce over night. They were in the smoker over hickory chips for several hours along with a nice juicy brisket. He carefully controlled the temperature to slowly cook the meat until it was succulent and tender. We always ate inside in the air conditioning without the flies.
It rained a nice amount this morning and cooled off the air into the 70s and reduced the humidity to tolerable levels. I can’t figure out why people suddenly can’t drive when a few rain drops hit the street.
June 10, 2014 at 10:24 am
Bob,
He did extract my tooth. The problem was whether to not the cumadin count was too high. Dennis decided the count was within acceptable range and he could pack the tooth so out it came. He didn’t give me any more narcotics as I didn’t need them, only the antibiotic.
Thanks for the link-salivate I did. I do love barbecue and these places sound superb!
My brother-in-law smokes everything. He uses his won rub on a lot of the meat. He developed it over time. They even smoke some desserts. I haven’t been out there so I haven’t tasted any of his amazing barbecue.
We had a bit of rain as well, but now it is just damp and a bit chilly. People panic at rain and are in a frenzy at the first flake.
June 10, 2014 at 9:36 am
My father’s attempts would be termed not so successful. His favorite was chuck steak complete with grease smoke. Course that could have been attributed to his complete lack of alcoholic intake of any kind. Maybe some booze would have helped. I’m certain it would not have hurt.
Carl
June 10, 2014 at 10:25 am
Carl,
My dad loved a pop or two while he was cooking. He just seemed to have the touch when it came to barbecuing. I can still see all that succulent meat!
June 14, 2014 at 11:46 pm
Sorry about the tooth. Been there… done that! Many times. And I never ate candy! (see your previous post)
My dad used lots of charcoal lighter, being careful to soak the grill before flaming up. He claimed it cauterized the grill so it didn’t need cleaning, then he’d wink and say “I was pre-med!” We never died.
June 15, 2014 at 9:57 am
Thanks, Jay Bird. That was about the worst weekend ever. I slathered numbing stuff every couple of hours and the pain killers were a bit useless. This was just a wisdom tooth well passed its prime.
My dad set his pant legs on fire a few times as well as the govern for the grill lying next to it on the grass. We always kept an eye just in case.